damaged meniscus... any experience

I have to go and see my specialist tomorrow about my right knee, the indication is that i have torn/damaged my lateral meniscus (apparently the unusual one to damage) wondering if anyone has experience of this injury and more importantly the recovery times and therapy, sorry for being general and vague.... but any help appreciated.

dude. between the vids of your teens class, that quote above and your avatar, you are my new personal hero

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I have to go and see my specialist tomorrow about my right knee, the indication is that i have torn/damaged my lateral meniscus (apparently the unusual one to damage) wondering if anyone has experience of this injury and more importantly the recovery times and therapy, sorry for being general and vague.... but any help appreciated.

If end up having a meniscectomy, your recovery time will be minimal. Olympic champions have had meniscectomies less than three weeks before they won medals. Some American footballers have had this procedure on a Monday and played competitively on the next Sunday.

Oddly, if you have a tear which can be repaired, your recovery time will be substantial because you have to keep weight off the leg until it heals. Afterward, you will need some physical therapy. The upside is: if your meniscus is repaired, you will greatly reduce your chances of osteoarthritis in the long run.

Get it repaired if you have a choice. However, chances are it won't be repairable.

Calm down, it's only ones and zeros.

"Your calm and professional manner of response is really draining all the fun out of this. Can you reply more like Dr. Fagbot or something? Call me some names, mention some sand in my vagina or something of the sort. You can't expect me to come up with reasonable arguments man!" -- MaverickZ

Yeah, I just had my meniscus scoped out. The surgery is fast, and recovery time is quite quick. If you do it on a Friday, you can walk around gingerly on it by Monday the next week. I was fully recovered and after 5 weeks, but I could even do some light stand up stickfighting and boxing after about 3 and a half weeks. You just need to watch out for any twisting motion to the knee for about a month.

cheers for the help guys, just a bit worried after i had my shoulder done and it was 3 months of physio

Recovering from a shoulder equivalent "Labralectomy" is pretty straightforward as well.

Becuase of anatomical and functional differences, having your "shoulder done" is almost certainly a very different procedure. Having a "shoulder done" is usually something like repairing a rotator cuff muscle, reconstructing torn ligaments, or having bone scrapped because of an impingement syndrome. If you had an "equivalent" procedure like this done to your knee, it would also require quite a bit of physical therapy.

Calm down, it's only ones and zeros.

"Your calm and professional manner of response is really draining all the fun out of this. Can you reply more like Dr. Fagbot or something? Call me some names, mention some sand in my vagina or something of the sort. You can't expect me to come up with reasonable arguments man!" -- MaverickZ

I have to go and see my specialist tomorrow about my right knee, the indication is that i have torn/damaged my lateral meniscus (apparently the unusual one to damage) wondering if anyone has experience of this injury and more importantly the recovery times and therapy, sorry for being general and vague.... but any help appreciated.

Sorry if my posting is belated. I have had numerous operations on both knees. Now totaling 7 combined. I've torn both meniscus. I've also torn both ACLs, left MCL, etc. Anyway, the best advice I can give you is to see how far you can get without surgery. If I had to do it over again, I would have been more patient. Having surgery sounds good because it fixes the problem and puts you on schedule for physical therapy. If you go without surgery and do exercises and physical therapy to strengthen your injury on its own, that tends to take longer but potentially is better for your health in the long run.

Ultimately it's up to you and what your goals are. With me it was to get back to training and competing as quickly as possible. I pay the price now every morning when I wake up and my knees sound like a popcorn machine.

Listen to your doctor, but don't be afraid to seek out an alternative plan for recovery. I wish I had been more patient and willing to explore the alternative. I can only offer you the wisdom I've gained by not waiting. Avoid surgery and take your time getting back into anything physical.